Sentinel staff report–
The City Council will meet Thursday evening to hold a public hearing on a proposal that would significantly raise various fees on residential and commercial development in the city. The council will also consider approving a residential repaving contract and funding a proposed beautification crew.
The June 23 council meeting is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at City Hall, while meetings next month will start at the earlier time of 6 p.m., as voted on by the council earlier this month.
Item spotlight: A controversial matter on the agenda involves a public hearing on proposed fee increases for development in Citrus Heights, including a revised park impact fee, multi-modal impact fee, affordable housing impact fee, and other fees. Examination of the city’s fees was conducted in a recent Nexus Study, with city staff finding many Citrus Heights fees roughly on par with Rancho Cordova, but far below the City of Sacramento.
Impact fees are imposed on new development in an effort to “offset the impact of new development on the City,” a staff report says. The fee increases are needed due to the fees not being updated in some cases for over 20 years, without accounting for rising costs and inflation, according to the report.
In some cases, one-time fees would nearly double for single-family projects, while proposed park impact fees would increase by as much as 569%, raising the fee for a single-family detached home by about $5,000 and adding close to $3,000 more for a mobile home.
A staff report says the city reached out for input from the “Land Development industry and Affordable Housing Advocates,” and received opposition from the North State Building Industry regarding certain “land value” fees which prompted staff to remove such fees.
Joshua Wood, CEO of Sacramento Region Business Association, told The Sentinel his association had requested to be notified when the city considers impact fees, but said the city had not reached out. Wood said his organization is opposed to the fee increases and urges the city to “reconsider any raises during this time when interest rates and shipping prices are raising construction costs to a point where projects are dying faster than dinosaurs in the Jurassic period.”
Additional items on the agenda include the following:
Repaving contract. The council will consider a staff recommendation to approve a contract with All Phase Construction for a total of $2.9 million to repave portions of 19 residential streets. Five other bids were submitted, with prices as high as $300,000 more, according to a staff report. A related $285,000 contract for construction management of the project will be considered for award to Quincy Engineering, Inc. A large portion of the funding will come from SB 1 gas tax funds.
$25k grant request. The City Council will consider approving a request from Royal Stage to receive a $25,000 grant from the city’s Economic Development Support Fund. The organization is currently renovating a space inside Sunrise Mall to turn into a performing arts venue.
Community support funding. The council will consider approving a staff recommendation to offer one-time funding to various nonprofits in Citrus Heights in the amount of $134,950. According to a staff report, benefiting organizations include all five organizations that requested funding: Citrus Heights Marching Band, Campus Life, Meals on Wheels, Single Mom Strong, and Sunrise Christian Food Ministry.
Budget update. The council will consider approving a legally required appropriations limit for the upcoming fiscal year and receive a budget update showing the city is anticipated to see a 4.3% increase in revenue budgeted for fiscal year 2022-23. The projected increase totals $1.75 million more than originally anticipated, due in part to strong sales resulting in a projected half-million dollars more in sales tax revenue.
Police expenditures. The council will consider allocating $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to go towards acquiring 22 police vehicles and purchasing and installing new police equipment.
Beautification Crew. The council will consider allocating $875,000 in ARPA funding to go towards a new pilot program to focus on beautifying the city. If approved, the funds will go to hire two full-time maintenance workers through fiscal year 2025-26. The team will focus on removing eyesores and blight.
The council will also hear an update from the Police Department regarding its upcoming fireworks enforcement and operation plan.
Public comments for the council meeting can be submitted to cityclerk@citrusheights.net, with up to 250 words, or emailed directly to the city council as a whole at citycouncil@citrusheights.net. Comments sent to the clerk will be read aloud during the meeting, if received by 4 p.m. the day of the meeting.
The council’s June 23 meeting agenda packet can be viewed in full online, with links for the Zoom meeting included in the packet. (click here)
Sentinel staff report--
The City Council will meet Thursday evening to hold a public hearing on a proposal to significantly raise various fees on residential and commercial development in the city. The council will also consider approving a residential repaving contract and funding a proposed beautification crew.
Thanks for reading The Sentinel. You are either trying to access subscribers-only content or you have reached your limit of 4 free articles per 30 days. Click here to sign in or subscribe.